ISLAMABAD - Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday has said that Pakistan wants the post US-Iran clash situation in the Middle East to de-escalate.
The army chief conveyed this to US Secretary of Defence Dr. Mark T. Esper who made a telephone call to him.
Both discussed the ongoing security situation in the Middle East, according to a tweet by DG ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor. The Secretary expressed that US doesn’t want to seek conflict, but will respond forcefully if necessary.
The DG ISPR quoted General Bajwa as having told the US official that Pakistan wants the situation to de-escalate.”We would like situation to de-escalate & shall support all initiatives which bring peace in the region. We call upon all concerned to avoid rhetoric in favour of diplomatic engagement. We all have worked a lot to bring peace in the region by fighting against terrorism,” said the COAS.
He further said that Pakistan would continue to playing constructive a role towards success of the Afghan reconciliation process. “We will continue to play our constructive part towards success of Afghan reconciliation process so that it doesn’t get derailed and region goes towards conflict resolution instead of new conflicts”, the COAS told the US Secretary of Defence.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing and Iranian ambassador separately called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the GHQ and discussed the regional security situation.
According to a statement issued by ISPR, the regional security situation including the US-Iran standoff was discussed during the meetings.